District of Columbia Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-term-care insurance sold in the District falls under D.C. Code Title 31, Chapter 36. The statute puts the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking — DISB for short — in charge of regulating the product, and it applies to both individual and group long-term-care policies delivered or issued for delivery within the District. Authorized insurers, along with several other specified types of organizations, are permitted to issue these policies under the chapter's rules.

DISB's own consumer-facing guidance explains what private long-term-care insurance typically covers: skilled, intermediate, and custodial nursing-home care, and depending on the specific policy, home health care, adult day care, or assisted living as well. It also makes a point of warning consumers that Medicare doesn't pay for ongoing nursing-home stays or extended home care — a common and costly misconception. That said, DISB's guide was last updated back in 2014, so it's a solid resource for the general concept of what these policies do, but not the place to look for current premiums, which insurers are actively selling in the District, or today's Medicaid eligibility figures. Available materials also do not identify an active District Long-Term Care Partnership Program, so families should not assume Partnership-style asset protection applies here without direct confirmation from DISB.